Name of Commissioner: Tenshinoitami1
Website/C.com gallery: http://www.facebook.com/SFShinigami?...!/ItamiDesigns
Character commissioned and series/video game (please include if this was the entire costume, just a jacket, prop, accessory, wig, etc.): Ten Years Later Rokudo Mukuro's coat from Katekyo Hitman Reborn
Links to picture(s) of your commissioned item: No coat yet.
Timeline (how long your order took to process): Still haven't gotten it.
Describe your Experience. Pros, Cons, Comments.

Pros: At first she was very nice and responded to emails really fast.

Cons: Ummmm.. well first she missed the deadline. I e-mailed her a few days after it, asking if she had sent it yet. She said that she would send it on Monday or Tuesday. So I e-mailed her Tuesday night asking why I hadn't received an "I sent it!" message. She said that her mom made her move early so she didn't have a chance to send it. So then she said she would overnight it to me. She missed mailing it again on Wednesday and promised to overnight it Thrusday since my con was on Friday.

I got it all set up with the post office so that I could pick it up on my way out of town Friday morning and, just in case, found a friend with a long coat I could use even though the sleeves were much too short. I woke up to a message Friday morning saying that she didn't want to rush it so she didn't send it. She apologized for missing my deadline and my con completely. I told her that I was upset, but had a back-up plan.

After my con, I e-mailed her again and asked when she would be sending the coat out. She told me that she would do it soon and that I could have 20% or something off the labor of a new commission. I e-mailed her back saying I wanted 20% off the labor of THIS commission because I wouldn't be commissioning her EVER again. It's been almost three weeks now and I still haven't heard back from her. I mail her twice a week.

Comments: She was very well aware that this was a rush commission when she took on the job.

Timeline (how long your order took to process): I placed the order on cosplay.com shopping site, took forever to actually complete. I'd say 2 weeks or so.

Pros: The color was dead on for what I wanted. I originally got it for a Yoko Littner wig and it was the perfect color. I'm new to cosplay so I really don't know how to style wigs. I figured I could just put it in a pony tail and it would be hunky dorry. Was I wrong. lol But on the other side, the hair was very realistic, very soft and really felt like real human hair.

Cons: When I got the wig it came in a hair net type thing and surprisingly even though I had to wait an extra 2 weeks for it was not tangled or frizzled at all. Every time I put it back in the bag it came in I was having a hard time keeping it from tangling and frizzling even though I put it in there very gently and carefully. I know I had to brush that thing every time I tried it on and tried to style it. Also, I was trying to move around/style the bangs and if you didn't have the hair in the right position you could see the skin cap which didn't look nice obviously. I also tried tying it in a ponytail and didn't think that all that hair would weigh a lot and basically all the weight in the back kept pulling the wig off my head and made it fall off.

Other then those points if I just used it for long hair, it would be a great wig. But now I learn my lesson and I still have to buy another wig for Yoko which kind of sucks because I got this wig for 36.00 dollars cause I bought it when they were onsale which paid for the s+h basically. Great wig for the price you pay. If you want a bit of a cheaper wig, go with Zephyr, it's a great wig for that price if your looking for some thing a bit cheaper.

Final Comments: As far as Zephyr I didn't buy from the official site so I can't speak for service for the official site. And I didn't know that summer time was a busy time for cons so that kind of bit me in the ass because cosplay.com/cosworx was a pain in the ass to get a hold of and I never got replies from emails and no one ever answered the phones. I called early in the morning and got an answer. So if you ever need to call them, do it in the morning.

Any way, for the price of their wigs you get a decent quality wig. Though if you want an actual high quality wig I hear that Airily is suppose to be the best wig line from Japan. They are a bit more expensive, some where around 50 dollars or more. But remember that you get what you pay for so I would think it's worth it.

But I would definitely buy Zephyr again. Though I've been wanting to try out Airily so when I have the money I was going to buy an Airily wig.

Final Grade: A (since I'm not counting cosplay.com's service and communication)

Name of Commissioner: Milanoo
Website/C.com gallery: http://www.milanoo.com
Character commissioned and series/video game (please include if this was the entire costume, just a jacket, prop, accessory, wig, etc.): pants, jackets and some other stuff for bleach characters
Links to picture(s) of your commissioned item: None
Timeline (how long your order took to process): 3 weeks
Describe your Experience. Pros, Cons, Comments.
Absolutely disgusting. The products we got were of decent albeit cheap quality but they must have been made for children or something. I ordered 2 sets off them and deliberately upped the size on them so we'd be sure to get something that fit us. So we ordered a 2x and a 3x knowing they were likely to be a bit smaller. Nothing could have prepared us for what we got. While being labeled as that, the actual stuff that we received is sized at around a medium and a large. Of all the pieces we received, not a single one is actually usable.
Final Grade: F-

Name of Commissioner: Skywalker21
Website/C.com gallery: none
Character commissioned and series/video game (please include if this was the entire costume, just a jacket, prop, accessory, wig, etc.): Yuna staff
Links to picture(s) of your commissioned item: None
Timeline (how long your order took to process): 2 weeks
Describe your Experience. Pros, Cons, Comments: I ordered Yuna's staff kind of last minute because I was attempting to make it myself. Lee kept me updated with progress pics often and always replied to my emails very promptly. The final product is amazing and accurate. It is very detailed and can be broken down into 3 pieces! I was amazed at how well it turned out given the small timeframe.
Final Grade: A+

Name of Merchant Cosworx (Or, the new Cosplay Shopping)Websitehttp://shop.cosplay.comItem purchased (please include quantity)x1 Wefted Extension in 613Links to picture(s) of your received item (Will post shortly)Timeline (how long your order took to process) I sent the order at 12:15AM on Thursday, August 19. Cosworx is located in Las Vegas, Nevada, which meant that it was 10:15PM for them. My postage stamp is actually dated August 19th!! I received it today via USPS, meaning I got it in less than 48 hours. I'm so thrilled hahaDescribe your Experience. Pros, Cons, Comments. The timing really was a huge part of what made me happy, but when I opened up the package, ooohhh! The fiber is sooo soft and silky and easy to run your hands through, the wefts are neatly done, I'm just really thrilled with it. If this is the quality of their extensions, you can bet your hiney that I'll be ordering a full wig from them soon. Final Grade: A

Pros: When she does reply shes very friendly and her quotes are reasonably priced.

Cons: She stole my money

Comments: Paid in March....got intermittent replies through April about working on the costume. I went out of the country and was uncontactable for the month of May, which I warned her in advance about.

When I returned at the end May I saw I had no messages from her at all. I thought this was odd as it had been two months since I paid, I thought the costume would have been completed by then.

I contacted her at the beginning of June. Three weeks later she replied saying that her computer had died so she was hard to contact but that she was going to start working on it and that she hoped to have it to me before July was too far gone.

July came and went. San Diego Comic Con came and went.

I emailed her asking where my costume was. She replied three days later that she was starting work on it and she would keep me updated via the library computer.

I replied that I needed it no later than August 20th.

Its now August 21st, I have no reply, no costume and am short 109 dollars.

I've been told that she is "starting work on it now" three times, and been told that she is having computer troubles so many times although I really don't know what not having a working computer has to do with not being able to sew a costume.

Nothing about not having a working computer prevents her from sitting at her sewing machine, sewing my costume and posting it to me.

Final Grade: F- (beware, warning, danger, danger, do not go near this person)

Lightweight materials and obvious construction techniques make shoes easy to alter, add to or subtract from without destroying their wearability. I was able to cut all of the frills off of Len's shoes with a pair of regular kitchen scissors and remove the hearts from both pairs in a matter of minutes.

The shoes themselves are surprisingly comfy and wearable. They photograph ~very~ well.

Cons: Some shoes run big. As you can see in the picture of Len, there's a LOT of room in the back! I intentionally ordered them a wee bit big so I could use them with inserts for another character, but only a half-size. The size difference shouldn't be quite so big.

They're cheap shoes, so they scuff and get damaged easily.

Final Comments: Totally worth the price for costume wear. With the gigantic gap in prices between Bodyline and the usual cosplay shoe sources, there's no contest. Bodyline is where to go for shoes ~ provided they have them. Look here first... then poke elsewhere on rakuten.

Timeline (how long your order took to process): 3 weeks from order to delivery

After recieving a less than stellar commission from cosplaycommish, I decided to invest an extra $150 to fix the largest of Hope's problems ~ his scandalous pants. TRYMAX was one of only three dealers with a Hope costume available and the only option with the straps I wanted his pants to have. Luckily, it was also the cheapest of the three and came with some pieces Mandy didn't include ~ the undershirt, wristband, and belt.

I threw my order in, made my bank transfer and waited bemusedly to see what came back.

Well ~ it came in more quickly than I expected and for a third of the price of my first botched commission, it isn't too shabby.

Pros: The colors are pretty good matches and some obvious reference work has been done. The overall costume is decently accurate ~ though materials have obviously been cheaped-out on at the expense of total accuracy. The costume is extremely complete and comes with pieces that were not included in my original commission ~ the belt (which I love!), the undershirt (which I love!) and the wrist-handkercheif (which I do not love... but can replace easily).

It fits extremely well and is also cut pretty accurately. Oddly enough, the fall of the jacket and length of the pants is much more accurate than the far more expensive commission I recieved before it.

The jacket and capelet are completely lined and the accessories are solidly made and surprisingly cool/functional. The belt and pouch are both awesome.

The price, about 1.2 man ($140) after shipping and handling, is unbeatable for this many pieces... and I feel as though I've gotten quite a lot of useable pieces for a minimal investment.

Cons: Lazy or unskilled construction ~ the inside of the pants is no-man's land... looking in there is just depressing. One of the straps is already frayed and has a hole in it, though it's simple enough to fix. I'm going to have to snap off and reattatch most of the buttons.

Final Comments: TRYMAX is cheap, but it wears it's cheap heart on it's sleeve and delivers some surprisingly nice-looking stuff in reasonably complete sets. Assuming you really do get what you pay for and $140 gives me a useable pair of pants, a nice undershirt, and a belt and pouch that I really love... I'm more convinced than ever that I paid cosplay commish far too much.

UPDATE: Halfway through the first day of wear, the stitching in the entire pants seam came undone leaving me laid bare crotch to buttocks and unravelling fast in the cosplay square at Tokyo Game Show. It was nothing an emergency stitch-up couldn't fix but it was uncomfortable and testament to incredibly shoddy workmanship on the part of the original maker. Again ~ you get what you pay for.

Name of Commissioner: Fan Plus FriendWebsite/C.com gallery:This Place heeere~/Character commissioned and series/video game: Ciel Phantomhive: Dress, hat, choker, bloomers, stockings.Links to picture(s) of your commissioned item Will edit when I finish fixing the minor details~ (From where they placed things to ship it to me~)Timeline (how long your order took to process) Very Fast. I ordered it on July 27th, with a custom fit. They were specific about it taking 2 weeks to process and make the order. I received the item on August 16th, 3 weeks later~. Shipping was very fast~.Describe your Experience. Pros, Cons, Comments.: Pros: I was very happy with the entire process. I've heard a lot of people have a problem with this group, because they're hard to get into contact with after the purchase, and indeed they are via email, but their live chat support system is flawless. The item is exactly what was on their website, with better detail than I hoped for. The hat was a bit smooshy, but I knew that from the beginning~. They were very helpful and patient, and didn't seem to mind that I checked in once every few days of concerns and check ups. Expensive yes, but I wouldn't ever have tried my hand at so many frills. Worth every penny~.

Cons: Not many that I wasn't aware of. I know that unless you tell them your height, their standard height is 5'5", instead of the average American of about 5'2" or a bit more or less. If you change things from what is their default, you have to inform them carefully with as much details as possible, (most times I think it's a different language miss communication problem). They can be difficult to contact, and you shouldn't expect an instant response. I used email to contact them before payment with questions, but after that I used their live chat support system they have linked up. There you can directly talk to them. On the bloomers, the waist is a bit tight (though they're not custom), as it is on the skirt, but it's not something that can't be managed~ and I am fairly tiny, and it happens a lot to me, so it's a common thing for someone such as myself~.

Final Grade: A+ ~

Though I've heard that it can be a hit or miss with these guys, I think if you give them enough detail to work off of, and do not overdo your custom fit measurements and make sure they know your exact height it works out fine~. A lot of things I've read about them is that they're bad with communication, so I highly recommend that people use their live chat support system if they want a more instant answer, but you do have to wait until they're online which is about 8:30 PM Central time in America~.

Name of Commissioner: Tokyo-FrontierWebsite/C.com gallery:http://myworld.ebay.com/tokyo_frontier/Character commissioned and series/video game: Ciel Phantomhive Wig
Links to picture(s) of your commissioned item: http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y63...sandwig029.jpgTimeline (how long your order took to process): Very quick~. 2 weeks at a ground flat rate shipping~. Was warned in advanced that this was house long it would take (15-25 days), got it 1 day before I expected it!Describe your Experience. Pros, Cons, Comments.Pros: Very soft, exactly like the picture they provided~. Very good communication and at a reasonable price. Very nice to work with, and the wig is very easy to manage. She even included a second wig cap no extra charge~.Cons: Not really many other than because it's a long pig tailed wig, it does fuzz up easily, but I've asked a question about how to comb it without loosing the curls, and also how to maintain those curls~.Final Grade: A+

Timeline (how long your order took to process): The order was placed through otamap and took about one week to process even with some restocking issues. Shipping was within Japan.

I needed a blonde wig for my Halloween costume (Howl from "Howl's Moving Castle") and remembered how gorgeous and fun to wear my Raikou wig is. I immediately wanted another Vellsus!

It arrived packed with our Classe order (for Final Fantasy XIII character wigs) and was packed in a heavy duty ziplock bag wrapped in a wig net and stuffed with a bit of tissue paper with Vellsus tags attatched. It also came with a free yellowish-tan wig net ~ a color that seems to have been custom dyed for the less-yellowish Vellsus wigs.

Pros: Vellsus makes the most gorgeous down-style wigs I've ever seen or touched. The tight-fitting wig caps and thickly-rooted hair make for incredibly natural-looking long wigs and flowing styles. The fibers are soft and difficult to tangle and the colors are a bit more on the natural side than most cosplay wigs. I own two long Vellsus wigs now and both are the most flattering wigs I own, requiring the least makeup to pull off and the least maitanance to store and care for.

The wigs react to wind and sunlight like real hair and photograph beautifully in the elements. Just be careful, like real hair, they'll turn into a rat's nest with enough wind and rain.

On putting on this wig with my cheap lucky-bag Howl coat I realized I had chosen correctly The color and cut are perfect. With a bit of a trim and some wax blocking on the bangs ~ this wig will finish the set nicely.

The price (4,980 yen) is a bit steep for a non heat-resistant wig but nowhere near the astronomical asking prices of "Alice Forest". I feel the wig is more than worth it's price-tag.

Cons: Not resistant to high-heat styling.

Prone to flyaways.

In my opinion Vellsus wigs are not as well-suited to short cuts, volume-building, spiking and complex styling as cheaper, non-resistant wigs or "Alice Forest" wigs.

Final Comments: This is my second Vellsus in the medium long style and my third Vellsus in all. I'm every bit as pleased with the third as I have been the others. Vellsus wigs are worth every yenny (and then some).

Timeline: Hmmm... I ordered them around July 20th and got them today (August 26)

Describe your Experience. Pros, Cons, Comments:
Wow, I have a lot to say about this commissioner. And unfortunately, most of it is bad. But let's start with the happy stuff, shall we?

Pros: The quality of the shoes is really nice. Like really, really nice. The material looks like it is sturdy, and the colors are-right on.

Also, she got me my items about two weeks before the deadline, which is cool .

Don't let this fool you though. Onto the cons.

Cons: WOW. Well first off, let me say this: the shoes are too long for my feet, and I know I didn't measure wrong. All I can do is thank god that I'm doing a crossplay, and guys tend to have bigger feet than girls so it won't look TOO weird. I can still walk in them, but it's not the best experience, I can assure you that.

Second: Her communication was TERRIBLE. You know how her add is all well-written out and fancy? She is NOT like that in real life. Her emails were not only short, but done in net-talk; you know, stuff like "u" and "lolz". Which I do not appreciate or expect from a "professional" commissioner. Not only that, but I was constantly referred to as "hun" and "dear" by her.

She was very slow answering my emails and only sent me two photos-- both of which were of the finished product. The first colors that she had put down were wrong-- she had put the straps as yellow, not brown. It took her about a week to respond when I told her it was the wrong color, but thankfully she did not put up a fight and changed them. Two weeks later, I got this email:

Her: Here you go. It is fixed.
Me: Oh wow thanks, it looks great!!!
Her: cool. pl. go ahead and send the rest of the payment, so i can ship to you. Thanks!

Whoa, wait, what? I had already sent her the full payment when I had placed my order, which was $125. I was very confused, and so I sent her this:

Me:Huh? I sent the full payment to you!

Her: Ohh, i am sorry. Yeah, u did send the full payment. I always assume people send half of the payment, bc that is what i usually do with payment. n_n
I will ship to you right away then.

I think it is extremely dangerous for any commissioner to just assume things that involve money >__>;. I sent her a message back, saying that it was ok and that I had just been confused about how she handled it, she said this:

Her: Hahaha. it happens. n_n

What happens? That commissioners don't keep track of whether or not someone has paid and answers emails pathetically slowly? Because I can assure you, I don't recall ever having that happen before. It was really strange, and unprofessional in my opinion.

Also, when reading her add, I could have sworn she said she was from California... but I got the package from China...

Overall, I was ok with the product but horrified with her communication and lack of professionalism.

Final Grade: Ugh... C-. I almost put D, but... well... the shoes are ok...

Timeline (how long your order took to process): The order was placed through otamap and took about one week to process even with some restocking issues. Shipping was within Japan.

My partner and I needed wigs for Vanille and Hope and Classe had two character wigs that looked pretty much perfect. I've never gotten a "pre-styled" character wig before, so I wasn't sure quite what to expect... but the colors were spot-on (with two different choices for Vanille to boot) so we went for it through Otamap, our usual cosplay shop portal.

It arrived packed with my Vellsus order (for a Howl wig) and was packed in a carrying case, wrapped in a wig net and stuffed with a good amount of firmly-packed tissue paper with Classe tags attatched. It also came with a free peach wig cap, an extra hairnet and a heavy-duty plastic storage bag.

Pros: All of the difficult bits of cutting and styling have been pre-done. The back is accurate, the bangs are more or less finished and the sides can be cut to frame any face by way of customization. All that really needs doing in terms of cutting is a slight trim to the bangs and cutting the sideburns to fit my own jaw.

The 4,400 yen asking price is about on par with an unstyled wig from prichara or another of the mid-range dealers... and is exactly the same price as Charas' character wig for the same character (which I had also considered) but which seems far too white and a bit long in comparison.

Shipping was free (since it was a combined order through otamap) and the carrying case is a great bonus.

Cons: None really. I dig the wig and it's perfect for the character.

Final Comments: This is my second Classe wig and my first pre-styled from any wig dealer. On the whole I'm quite impressed with it. While it isn't ready-to-wear, the color and cut are spot-on for the character and all of the additional styling is self-explanatory to anyone with even a little experience with wigs. A trim on the sides, bangs and a bit of wax will make this a perfect Hope wig.

Name of Commissioner: Chobrat/ChosukeWebsite/C.com gallery:http://www.cosplay.com/member/786Character commissioned: Aisaka Taiga. I purchased a wig from her.Pictures: None. I did not receive my item.Timeline: December 2009 - Now.

Experience:
It's a classic story, really. She started off hospitable and responsive enough, but as soon as we negotiated the price and I sent the payment, she went silent. I sent her several emails in the coming months trying to find out the status of my wig, but she remained about as talkative as a tree stump.
In fact, I had to go personally search out information on why she wasn't responding; I found it on her wig commission thread, where a friend of hers reported that she'd been going through some personal problems and that she wouldn't be able to take any new orders. She provided a new email to the masses where Cho could be contacted.
IT WAS MY HOLY GRAIL.
... Unfortunately, it was also a red herring.

I was a mouse temporarily vexed by new cheese; Cho was equally unresponsive when I tried to contact her VIA that email. At that point, I was beginning to realize that my dreams of prancing around in a gorgeous, fluttering Taiga wig were no more.
I tried to dispute my transaction VIA Paypal, but alas, I had waited too long as it was much too late to dispute my transaction... in fact, it has now been almost a year since I tried to purchase that wig.

So, in essence, I paid 200 dollars for negotiation. I got no wig, no updates and to this day I still have no idea what's going on with her. I have no more desire for the wig; the con already passed and I had to use a rushed backup version.

If any of Cho's friends ever read this, PLEASE give me some way to contact her or something. Ugh. I realize she's a nice girl and she was good to many, many customers, but she really kind of... left me in the dark. At the end of the day, I just want my money back. @@